NAIROBI, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- A successful transition to a green, resilient and inclusive future hinges on rapidly scaling up public and private sector financing to help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change, according to a report released Wednesday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Despite growing threats posed by global warming, financing for measures that help communities cope with climate impacts has been inadequate, said UNEP's 2026 Adaptation Gap Report.
Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP, cautioned that the global community remains unprepared for escalating climate risks, saying nations must intensify efforts to meet the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) aspiration of tripling adaptation finance by 2035, and will need to go beyond that to save lives, avoid loss and damage and protect economies.
Released ahead of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), scheduled to take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from Nov. 9 to 20, the report evaluats global progress on climate adaptation, maps out necessary financing thresholds and assesses international efforts to address loss and damage.
The report noted that current adaptation financing has consistently fallen short of targets established at previous global climate summits, leaving vulnerable populations increasingly exposed to extreme weather events such as prolonged droughts and destructive cyclones.
Building on aspirations established at COP30 in Brazil, which called for tripling adaptation financing by 2035, the upcoming COP31 in Türkiye is expected to rally international action toward meeting this critical benchmark.
Developing nations will require an estimated 305 billion dollars annually in adaptation financing by 2035, the report said.
At the same time, the report noted a positive rise in South-South cooperation and adaptation financing between developing countries, with contributions channeled through multilateral development banks and direct partnerships climbing from 3.8 billion dollars in 2019 to 9.6 billion dollars in 2024. ■